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3 dead; heavy rains and strong winds cause mayhem in many areas
View(s):At least three people have been confirmed dead, while 55,435 people from 13,902 families have been affected by several days of adverse weather, including heavy rains, strong winds and severe lightning, according to figures released by the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) yesterday evening.
Heavy rain and strong winds caused damages to property in 11 districts. At least five houses were completely destroyed while 178 others suffered partial damage.
In the most serious incident reported so far, the bodies of a 47-year-old mother and her 23-year-old son were recovered by search teams yesterday, after they were killed when their house at Thubaliyadda in Warakapola, was buried by a landslide. The 55-year-old father was rescued from the rubble and was admitted to the Warakapola Hospital.
A total of 1,146 persons from 275 families were
taking shelter in 14 safe locations. A total of 788 of them were from the Colombo district, where flashfloods had affected areas in the Seethawaka, Kotte, Homagama, Kaduwela, Thimbirigasyaya and Kolonnawa areas. Another 358 persons were from areas in the Gampaha district.
Floods were also reported in the Galle district and some low-lying areas in the Kalutara district such as Mathugama and Welipenna.
Minor flood warnings were in effect for low-lying areas along the Kelani Ganga, Kalu Ganga and Aththanagalu Oya areas as of last evening. Landslide warnings were issued for areas in the Colombo, Galle, Kalutara, Kegalle, Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura districts.
Yesterday the Police requested motorists to use alternate roads as the Biyagama area had been inundated with water from the Kelaniya River.
Issuing an advisory for heavy rain last evening, the Met Department warned that current heavy rains were expected to continue due to the influence of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)–the region where the Northern hemispheric wind and the Southern hemispheric winds converge–which was located near the island.
“Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central and North western provinces and in the Galle and Matara districts. Heavy showers above100 mm can be expected at some places in the Western,
Sabaragamuwa and Central provinces and in the Galle and Matara districts. Showers or thundershowers will occur elsewhere over the island during the afternoon or at night. Fairly heavy showers above 75 mm can be expected at some places,” an official from the Met Department said.
They also advised people to take adequate precautions to minimise damages caused by temporary localised strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
Moreover, strong winds that swept through five grama niladhari divisions in Karuwalagaswewa damaged 41 houses and two business establishments. The roofs of some houses were completely ripped off by the winds, an official from the Karuwalagaswewa Divisional Secretariat said.
The incident had affected 128 people and two women suffered minor injuries. Initial compensation payments for those affected to repair the roofs of damaged houses would be processed speedily, the official added.
Meanwhile, a nuga tree believed to be more than 100 years old fell onto a kovil in the Demodara estate, causing severe damage to the building. However, no injuries were reported in the incident.
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